Oncologists are specialists in the study and treatment of cancers, a disease that's medically and emotionally difficult for both the patient and the practitioner. This can be especially true for pediatric oncologists, who treat children with cancer. Despite the challenging and emotionally draining nature of the work, salaries for pediatric oncologists are at the low end relative to most other specialties.

Beginning to Practice

When aspiring pediatric oncologists graduate from medical school, they're only just past the halfway point in their training. They'll typically spend three more years in a residency program and then three additional years in fellowships, learning the skills necessary to treat their patients and strike an appropriately supportive note with the distraught parents. The national median income for a first-year pediatric oncologist after those six years of specialized training is $175,000 per year, according to a September 2011 survey performed by medical staffing agency Profiles.

Later in Practice

The annual Profiles survey combines data from its own clients with figures from salary surveys performed by other industry bodies. To provide a point of comparison, Profiles also generates a national median for physicians who have been in practice for six years. For pediatric oncologists, that figure is $210,000 per year. Another major study performed annually by the American Medical Group Association sets the median income slightly higher, at $212,577.

Comparison

Although pediatric oncologists are well paid compared to most occupations, their salaries aren't especially lavish among physicians. In the AMGA's survey, for example, hematologist/oncologists treating adults reported a median income of $320,907 a year, or roughly 50 percent higher than their pediatric counterparts. Gynecologists earned $232,075, while gynecologist-oncologists earned $320,907. Family physicians earned an average of $208,861 a year. While pediatric oncologists won't wonder where their next meal is coming from, it's not a specialty that attracts physicians in search of the highest possible paycheck.

Outlook

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that demand for physicians and surgeons in general will increase by 24 percent between 2010 and 2020. There might be even greater demand for oncologists. A 2009 study by the National Cancer Policy Forum predicted that the number of cancer patients would increase by 55 percent by 2020, and that 50 percent of all currently practicing oncologists would retire by that year. Cancer survivors also typically receive follow-up care for years afterward, meaning that each patient represents greater demand on the system than in other specialties.

About the Author

Fred Decker is a trained chef and certified food-safety trainer. Decker wrote for the Saint John, New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, and has been published in Canada's Hospitality and Foodservice magazine. He's held positions selling computers, insurance and mutual funds, and was educated at Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.